Lingerie clip



E. Mci. LovEJoY 2,194,709

LINGERIE CLIP Filed Feb. 17, 1939 atented Mar. 26, l1944i insonnia our l ntheiiucrntosh Lovejoy, seattle, wash. ApplicationFebruary 17, 1939, Serial No. 256,988

` i claims.' loi. 2li- 85) My present invention relates to the art of clips or clasps and more particularly to a lingerie clip which consists essentially oi' a holder or clasp adapted to be secured on the underside of `the material of a womans dress at a point nearly over her shoulder. The device is produced from narrow, thin metal or other material `possessing resilient qualities and is sokforined in the die, at the time of making, as to provide a spring clip for engaging the straps of undergarrnents. The upper portion of the clip is provided with two or more spike-like pins which `are. struck from the material, and which are so arranged as to engage the outer garment and hold the clip securely in l position to the same while, at the same time, peritting free lateral movement of the strap, or straps, during normal body action of the wearer, but definitely holdingr them fromslipping up or downirom their desired position on the shoul der.

A further object is to provide a lingerie clip which is adapte-d to be made in various colors and finishes, which will be attractive, simple to y adjust, and cheap to manufacture.

Another important object is to provide a vdevice for holding lingerie straps in position on the shoulders which make it unnecessary tov stitch eitherrthe clip or the straps themselves to the dress shoulder, and, by this means, permit the transfer of the clip from one dress to another.

' Aiurther object of my present invention is to provide means for so connecting the clip tothe underside of the material forming the shoulder of the dress that the dress is not puckered or wrinkled because of any gripping by the clip.

Another object of my present invention is to provide a lingerie clip, of the minimum bulk, `which will not rub or irritate the skin of the wearer; which will hold in place shoulder straps 40 of various widths; and which may be easily insorted or removed from engagement with the clip, by the wearer herself.

Other and more specic objects will be apparent from the following description taken in cone' nection with the accompanying drawing, where- Figure l is a top plan view of a lingerie clip made after the teachings of my present invention, the same, as are the various other views in the drawing, being shown several times its normal size for clearness in illustration.

Figure 2 is a side elevation of the device shown in Figure 1.

Figure 3 is a sectional View taken along the line 3--3 ofFigure 1. l

Figure 4 is a sectional View taken generally in the same sense as Figure 3, butshowing the dress engaging tongues in the position they assume when partly engaged in the dress material.

Figure 5 illustrates the manner in whichthe clip is engaged on the underside of the dress.

Figure 6 shows the device secured in position with the dress material also shown in section, and showing the manner in which a lingerie strap is inserted in the clip.

Figure 7 is' a perspective view clip in its normal position.

Figure 8 is a perspective View, illustrating partly in section the manner of using my clip.

showing the Figure 9 is a cross-sectionalViewthrough myv lclip showing the' position itv assumes when in position for use.

Referring to the drawing, throughout which like reference characters indicateA like parts, ll

per side of the clip, from the material of the clip'itself, are preferably `two pointed claws l2 and lli. These are preferably arranged after the showing of Figure l, in a parallel relationship, with their points considerably overlapping. The points of each of the prongs are then preferably bent inwardly as is illustrated at l5 and it so that when the prongs are passed through the material of the dress, the points will be downwardly directed against the metal of the clip, itself, and in this way can never stick outwardly through the garment where they might engage wraps, or be a source of annoyance to the wearer or others.

At each end the material forming the clip is bent back on itself to form the two end bends as 2li and 2l. Bend 2li is `formed with an additional bend at 22 so as to assist in entering the strap of the garment under the other `end`24, of

the clip, which end overlaps end 26, after the A`showing particularly of Figures 2 and 3. When the clip is-formed bend 2l should be made slightly greater than ythe drawing indicates so as to put an upward tension onend 2li to hold it firmly against extreme end 26 of bend 2E). In this manlower bar 24 rests on the wearers shoulder it is often desirable to bend the extreme end upwardly as is indicated at 28 so` there will be no sharp corner that might otherwise irritate the shoulder.

For certain uses it may be desirable to secure my clip in place, especially on quite sheer dresses, by stitching the same into the dress material itself, and to provide means that will facilitate this I have formed the upper plate of my clip with a plurality of openings as 30 which may be employed after the teachings of Figure 6 to pro- Vide openings for stitching the clip to the dress.

Method of use In using my lingerie clipl it has been found most convenient to insert it by slightly deforming the same after the showing of Figure 4 and Figure 5 and pressing points I6 and I8 up into the underside of the dress so that the material is engaged; then as the clip is released, the natural resilience of the material will cause it to assume the position probably best shown in Figures 6, 8, and 9. In these showings the prongs I2 and I4 due to the resiliency of the material used, lie so that the eXtreme ends of the prongs, or points I6 and I8, are directed downwardly into the slots formed in body II] by striking the prongs from that body of the material. In this way there can be no interference with other garments, or dangerous exposure of sharp points. In the various views I have illustrated my clip as being attached to a garment having a plurality of thicknesses of material. This is the normal structure of a garment in that there is normally a seam on the shoulder, and this seam because of the extra I thicknessesof material,`is best adapted to receive the clip. However, it will be apparent it is believed, inasmuch as the clip passes through one thickness of material only and exposes only a small portion of the prongs on the upper surface, that if the clips are made in various colors, they will pass unnoticed on the average gown. In lined dresses, of course, there is an abundance of material to which the clip may be anchored.

In the various views my clip is shown many times its normal size. For use with undergarments having straps one-fourth or three-eights of an inch in width, the total overall length of my clip need not exceedk one-half inch and the width being only a small part of the length, it is possible to produce a clip so small that it is indeed very inconspicuous. The structure of the clip though, provides for the free movement of the undergarment strap S through it and if the clip is made after the general proportions illustrated in my drawing, it will be apparent that several straps may be engaged by the clip and each of them be held so that it can freely pass through the same; this is desirable when a person moves, as the clips will be held in exact position on the shoulder and will not permit the straps to slide upwardly where they will show around the neckline, or to slip downwardly over the arm where they will either show or cause annoyance to the wearer, or permit the underskirt, for instance, to` show below the dress hem. To remove the clip, a mere reversal of the operation of putting it in place, is necessary.

The foregoing description and the accompanying drawing are believed to clearly disclose a preferred embodiment of Amy invention but it 4will be understood that this disclosure is merely illustrative and that such changes in the invention may be made as are fairly within the scope and spirit of the following claims.

Having thus fully described my invention, what I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

1. A device as described including a strip of resilient metal bent upon itself to form spaced walls and arcuate connecting end sections, one f said walls having struck out portions therein comprising oppositely disposed garment penetrating members, the ends of said members being pointed and bent downwardly whereby longitudinal compression ci? the device will result in the proximating of the ends of said members for insertion in the garment.

2. A device as described including a strip of resilient metal bent upon itself to form spaced walls and arcuate connecting end sections, one of said walls having struck out portions therein comprising oppositely disposed garment penetrating members whereby longitudinal compression of the device will result in the proximating of the ends of said members.

3. A device as described including a strip of metal bent upon itself to form spaced walls and arcuate connecting ends one wall being continuous and the other wall including the overlapping ends of said strip, said solid wall having struck out portions therein comprising oppositely disposed garment penetrating members, the ends of said members being pointed and bent downwardly, said members being automatically protracted toward garment engaging position upon longitudinal compression of said device.

4. A device as described including a strip of metal bent upon itself t0 form spaced Walls and connecting ends, one wall being continuous and the other wall including the overlapping ends of said strip-one` of said overlapping ends being formed with a concavo-convex section adjacent the end thereof, and said solid wall having struck therefrom a pair of oppositely disposed garment penetrating members adapted for automatic protraction to garment penetrating position upon compression of said connecting ends.

ETHEL MCINTOSI-I LOVEJOY. 

